Miami Heat: 2026-27 Emirates Cup Groups revealed

Miami Heat Emirates Cup — (Photo Courtesy of the NBA)

Hours after the start of NBA Free Agency, the league revealed the groups for the 2026-27 Emirates Cup.

Per usual, there were six total groups — three from each conference — composed of five teams apiece. The Miami Heat will be in Group B, headlined by the reigning champion New York Knicks, plus the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers.

Here’s how the rest stack up!

Group A:
- Detroit Pistons
- Orlando Magic
- Toronto Raptors
- Brooklyn Nets
- Milwaukee Bucks
Group C:
- Boston Celtics
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards
- Chicago Bulls
- Charlotte Hornets

The groups are set for the Emirates NBA Cup 2026!

All 30 NBA teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2025-26 regular season.

The groups are available below. pic.twitter.com/bZHTlRGs29
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 1, 2026

Dates and times for each game will be released at a later date. Though what we do know is that Miami’s road games for group stage play will be in Indiana and New York, while they will host the Cavaliers and 76ers.

The East’s Group B has the potential to be the most competitive in the NBA:

As you can already tell, this will be no easy test for the Miami Heat.

Each season is different, but New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Indiana are all teams that are expected to compete for homecourt in the East — as are the new-look Heat with Giannis Antetokounmpo. New York may not invest as much into the regular season now that they’re coming off a championship, but will still care.

Despite possessing a flawed backcourt with little depth, Cleveland is no slouch; Philadelphia is still good, as is Indiana. It will be easier to evaluate once training camp starts. But this will be no cakewalk for Miami if they want to make the knockout round, let alone earn a trip to Las Vegas, Nev.

The Heat went 7-7 against those teams last year, including 2-1 against Philadelphia with a pair of four-game splits against New York and Cleveland.

In the grand scheme of things, is the In-Season Tournament that important? No. But these games should still be a very good test for Miami against good competition, especially as they begin to develop early-season chemistry with Antetokounmpo, provided he stays healthy.